Adair Baseball moved to 10-5 on the season and 3-1 in district play this week with a Tuesday loss and Wednesday victory, both against the Taylor County Cardinals (16-5).
Indians 3 Taylor County 9
The Tribe had more hits than the Cards (8 to 7), but four errors spelled doom for the Indians in Tuesday’s contest at Taylor County.
“We outhit them, just made too many mistakes—too many errors and walks,” says head coach Ryan McQueary. “You’re not going to win many baseball games like that.”
Brayton Coomer and Carson Jessie each threw three innings, giving up five earned runs and surrendering a combined six walks. Coomer took the loss.
Kaleb Keltner and Connor Loy each tallied two hits for Adair.
Indians 5 Taylor County 3
Wednesday’s contest saw a better performance from the Tribe, particularly on defense and on the mound. The Indians trailed until the bottom of the fifth, when sophomore Jake McQueary knocked a three-run double to turn the tide and give Adair a lead it would not surrender.
Braxton Smith and Kaleb Keltner combined to allow just two earned runs and allow three walks, with Keltner picking up the win in relief. Keltner, Loy, and Brian Cornelison each tallied two hits, and McQueary knocked in three important runs. Smith added a solo homer.
“We had a key hit or two, and in those games you’ve got to get the important hits, or it’s not going to bode well for you,” McQueary says. “I was really proud of our guys, they could’ve laid down after the first one, but they took ownership of the fact that we hurt ourselves that game.”
The win moved Adair to 3-1 in district play, in control of its own destiny as far as postseason seeding is concerned.
“I feel pretty good about where we are,” the coach says. “We’re starting to come into our own, starting to get some respect that we’re tough outs at the plate. We just need to keep the walks to a minimum and make the plays on defense. I think we’ve got a really good baseball team, but we’ve still got a ways to go.”
